C.—B.

The following particulars of stock and produce returns from the Hauraki Plains District have been compiled from figures kindly supplied by the dairy factories and other concerns handling most of the produce of the district. The figures in parentheses are last year's returns : — Tons. Tons. Butter .. .. .. .. .. .. 3,350 (2,975) Cheese .. .. .. .. .. .. 2,305 (2,698) Flax .. .. .. .. .. .. 566 i (139) No. " No. Pigs .. .. .. .. .. .. 9,846 (7,652) Calves .. .. .. .. .. .. 24,874 (23,262) Miscellaneous stock .. .. .. .. 8,205 (5,707) Cargo received and shipped from the Piako River and Waitakaruru amounted to 6,648 tons. These figures are by no means complete, as it is obviously impossible to get complete returns from a large district. They, however, serve as an approximate indication of the value of the annual production of the reclaimed swamp lands. Rainfall records for Kerepeehi since 1915 are as follows : —

Records of Daily Precipitation, Kerepeehi, Hauraki Plains.

Average annual rainfall over twenty years is 43-52 in. The rainfall for 1935 was considerably above the average, and it will be noticed that rain fell on 194 days. It is satisfactory to record that, with the exception of the overflow of the Waitakaruru Stream on Ist February, when extensive flood damage occurred all over the Auckland Province, no serious flooding occurred on the Hauraki Plains. The need for flood-control work on the Waitakaruru Stream has been apparent for many years, but the difficulty has been that the settlers have been unwilling to raise the small contribution required from them towards the cost of the work. For several years past the works connected with the Hauraki Plains Reclamation Scheme have, owing to the necessities of the economic situation, been carried out principally as relief undertakings. Although there is no doubt that much, permanently useful work has been accomplished, it has unfortunately been necessary to depart from the original plans for the progressive development of the scheme because the grants for construction work have been to a considerable degree conditional upon the use of unemployed labour. An assurance of regular appropriations over a period of years is required to enable a longer-range programme of balanced development to be undertaken and an efficient arrangement of equipment and working-forces' to be devised to provide the greatest possible return for the expenditure. I would particularly recommend for consideration plans for the development of 11,000 acres of Orown land, known as the Pouarua area, lying to the south of Waitakaruru and west of the settled lands on the western bank of the Piako River. A considerable amount of drainage and road-construction has already been carried out within this area. The Pouarua Canal, already constructed, and the Maukoro Canal, on which further work has been authorized, provide the necessary main drainage, and several miles of subsidiary drains were constructed some years'ago as a relief-of-unemployment undertaking. The land is peat, and as the result of subsidence brought about by drainage these drains require to be periodically deepened. This will cause further consolidation, and the land will then become suitable for grazing, which will hasten the process of development. A considerable portion of the area has already reached an advanced stage of development and could be prepared for permanent settlement in a few years time.

2

Number of Days, with given Daily Precipitation in Inches. oi -TjH Oi r* OS Tji oi OS OS OS <35 OS On,,,™., Voo- Total Total w .. , -, r ,, „ . ,,, A1 Year. Days. Fall. Wettest Month. Driest Month, o oooooooooooo O OlOOkOOOOOOOOO O iftt-0(NOt>0 :»« 0000 Ō Ô © rH tH iH ■ tH CSJ C\1 CO iÔ «5 1916 .. 109 12 9 7 2 3 .. 1 1 .. .. 1 .. .. 144 52-19 Nov. 6-65 Feb. 1-05 1917 .. 131 11 4 4 3 1 1 1 156 45-61 Feb. 6-26 Jan. 0-65 1918 .. 145 14 6 4 1 .. .. ! 1 171 44-06 Oct. 7-47 May 2-24 1919 .. 122 9 1 3 2 ! 137 27-36 July 4-52 Deo. 0-89 1920 .. 85 7 10 3 1 1 3 2 ' 112 43-16 Feb. 6-10 July 1-73 1921 .. 93 12 5 3 2 .. .. 1 116 34-41 Oct. 5-89 Feb. 0-72 1922 .. 101 17 9 3 1 1 .. 1 133 42-81 Feb. 6-62 April 1-73 1923 ..151 6 5 4 1 1 .. 1 169 47-04 April 9-76 Mar. 1-72 1924 ..132 8 10 5 2 5 1 1 .. 2 166 60-37 April 8-55 July 1-87 1925 .. 142 15 4 2 1 164 37-64 June 6-67 April 0-84 1926 .. 149 15 6 4 5 2 2 .. 183 55-53 May 8-86 Feb. 1-79 1927 .. 159 10 6 5 .. 4 184 45-33 July 6-29 April 2-01 1928 ..125 7 9 2-3 2 2 1 151 47-30 May 7-52 Jan. 0-01 1929 .. 124 19 8 3 1 155 41-05 April 5-09 Feb. 0-74 1930 ..131 4 2 2 3 2 2 146 37-72 Jan. 6-87 Dee. 0-80 1931 .. 144 10 7 4 2 167 43-23 July 7-80 Mar. 0-98 1932 ..126 7 5 4 .. 1 143 32-05 Feb. 4-95 Nov. 0-93 1933 .. 152 13 1 4 3 .. .. 1 .. .. 174 38-93 Feb. 6-54 Mar. 1-20 1934 .. 138 11 6 5 2 2 .. 1 .. 1 166 43-23 June 6-15 Oct. 2-05 1935 .. 163 15 6 4 2 2 .. 1 .. 1 j 194 53-42 July 9-56 Jan. 0-93 1936* .. 30 7 2 1 40 13-16 Feb. 5-83 ! Mar. 3-03 * First three months of year only.